Angel of Mercy (The Angel of Mercy Series Book 1) by Bruce Lewis

Author:Bruce Lewis [Lewis, Bruce]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: 2 Pirates Press
Published: 2023-10-23T16:00:00+00:00

16

A Chicago Tribune front-page story detailed plans for Mattie Powell's funeral and her rise to fame.

Because the murder involved a celebrity who had fallen from grace, the attendees were a mixed bag of who's who in Chicago and the not-so-important. The politically influential socialites and social justice advocates turned out in droves.

Advocates for the unsheltered used the occasion to generate donations and bolster their cause. A local pastor who operated a food kitchen for the homeless said, "This shows that no one is immune to this plague." Donations to his food kitchen jumped 50% following the publicity around the homeless writer's death.

Powell couldn’t have imagined that her death would become a cause celeb for homelessness. Then again, she would have been pleased to know her work with people in Lazy Acres had paid off.

Detective Shondra Smith stood at the back of St. Mark's Cathedral, watching the well-wishers enter the church. She knew one could be the killer, there to silently gloat, pray for forgiveness, or gleefully witness what their dirty deed had wrought.

Among the mourners were Powell's publisher, old friends from her glory days as a best-selling author, and even one or two neighbors from Lazy Acres. Jim Briggs and Jenny Morrison acknowledged Detective Smith as they joined the procession.

Smith hadn't ruled out Morrison and Briggs as suspects. Their alibis seemed solid. The two had focused on each other and a long-delayed wilderness trip.

Briggs had left the area three months before, so he had no reason other than his girlfriend to return—at least none Smith could identify. Recognizing that the stabbing was a crime of passion, Smith's investigation shifted to Powell's husband, Bernard Millwood. Millwood was a failed author and popular creative writing professor at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.

According to Powell's publisher, Millwood was pushing hard to get control of his wife's royalty account, which held more than a million dollars. He had threatened legal action if they didn't turn over the money. As Powell's spouse, he insisted he was her legal heir. Before the murder, the publisher's legal staff told him there was no indication that Powell was dead, so their hands were tied. Powell made her son heir to any money from book sales in her publishing contract, which the publisher didn't share with Millwood. Powell hoped the books would be a source of income for her son, a constantly recovering addict who rarely could—or would—work.

Medill's dean shared a rumor that Millwood was in financial trouble again over gambling debts, reinforcing Detective Smith's suspicion of the husband.

As funeral attendees took their seats, Smith spotted a very short, shabbily dressed man pressing against a back wall as if trying to melt into the woodwork. Odd, she thought, surreptitiously photographing him with her phone camera. She opened the photo app and enlarged it. It was clear and sharp. Smith figured he was one of Mattie's neighbors from Lazy Acres. She would show the photo to Briggs.

When the services ended and the mourners moved to the gravesite, Smith edged her way to the back of the mass of people surrounding Powell's casket.

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